Have you encountered strangers coming to your house to bai nian for ang pao?
Advertisements
Just encountered a literal stranger coming to my house to bai nian – he held out two oranges and said he was here to bai nian.
Obviously I was pretty shocked and told my parents but they told me to tell him that they were in the toilet so cannot bai nian and no ang pao for him lol.
But apparently according to them it’s tradition for strangers to just go over to some random persons house to bai nian and get ang pao?
Is this true? Cause if so the guy must have gotten quite some cash.
Advertisements
Netizens’ comments
- Better not give angpows to strangers who show up at your house during cny. They may keep returning to your place to pester for monetary donations if they know that you are kind and generous. Likely to pose future risks to your family.
- Lol he think he trick or treating??
- when we first moved into our new home, our next door neighbour waltzed in through our door on her own without ringing bell or knocking and asked us what we were going to prepare for dinner for CNY day 1 because her family wanted to come over. everyone else was stunned like vegetable but my brain + mouth got no filter, so i just frowned at her and asked her “eh where got people just come into someone’s house without an invite and expect dinner on cny day 1? are you my mother-in-law or what? we no need to visit our family meh?” she turned red and tried to use the “but i thought we are neighbours so we can spend cny together and have dinner mah.” i just stared at her until she felt so awkward she left.
- It’s a very old tradition, it used to be that everyone would know everyone in the village (or kampong), so it wasn’t that awkward to go to a ‘stranger’s’ house and bai nian. However, nowadays it’s really weird to go to a strangers house and ask them for blessings and ang baos
I have village relatives back in China that still do this because it’s their culture and it’s a small village, but idk anyone from the cities that do this anymore.
Edit: Also some older generations still do give out Ang Baos to strangers if they knock on the door. My grandparents still do give $2 Ang Baos to door-to-door sales people (etc.) regardless. - Wth? Never heard of this behaviour. Unless you know that person, and that person is okay with you visiting during CNY, it’s pretty rude to go to people’s house to ask for red packets.
- Nah. It’s not a tradition. You go to your relatives house to bai nian, not strangers.
Some people might say just to get in your house. I’ve heard people have opened their doors to strangers and ended up getting robbed.
I used to have grasscutters and rubbish collectors who happen to pass by receiving ang pow by generous homeowners. I would give too.